Belled moved just as a spear was thrust forward, aimed straight at her head.
'He overcommitted!'
Switching the grip on her dagger, she rushed forward and stabbed the beastkin in the shoulder.
"Ahhhh!"
A scream of agony echoed.
Belle's instincts screamed at her... warning of danger.
'Behind!'
She crouched, narrowly avoiding the mace swinging toward the back of her head.
Crunch.
The sound of bones breaking resounded.
The mace smashed into the beastkin's chest instead, breaking several ribs.
Belle didn't hesitate. She swiftly turned and kicked the dwarf straight in the chest.
The air rushed out of his lungs as he dropped to his knees.
But Belle gave him no respite. She drove her knee into his nose.
It flattened instantly, and the dwarf writhed on the ground in agony.
"Hah... hah... hah..."
By now she was nearly out of breath, her stamina draining fast.
"Not yet..."
A gust of wind brushed her side, and she grit her teeth.
A giant hammer swung toward her.
'I can't block that... and I can't dodge it either.'
Her mind raced. There was only one option.
'Offset the impact.'
She leaned her body and raised her daggers, trying to redirect the force.
One dagger snapped instantly, and she was sent flying several meters, skidding backward before slamming into a wall.
"Augh!"
She grunted in pain.
'I managed to get by without a single bone broken.'
But there was no time for relief.
Her right arm hung limply, numb.
The sound of metallic chains rattled in her ears.
She leapt aside—but too slow. The chain caught her leg.
"Urgh!"
Her momentum halted, dragging her to the ground.
She sat up, glaring at the chains clamped tightly around her ankle.
"I got her!"
A mohawked man holding the chain shouted fanatically.
"This is our chance!"
The pallum's crazed grin widened. Knife in hand, he charged.
Belle reached for her waist and grabbed a pouch full of coins.
"You want my money so badly? Then take it!"
She wound back like a baseball pitcher and hurled the pouch.
"Eh?"
The heavy sack smashed into the pallum's skull, momentum amplifying the impact.
His teeth scattered as his body hit the ground with a thud.
The pouch ripped open, spilling coins that clattered across the stone floor.
But no one paid them any mind. Survival came first.
"Haaaaaaa!"
Belle screamed as she slashed down at the chain around her ankle.
Clink.
The chain snapped. The bindings loosened.
Excluding Zanis, who had yet to move from the sidelines, only two attackers remained.
A whole group of adventurers... defeated by a single rookie.
That realization sent unease crawling across the two survivors' faces.
The sound of clapping cut through the silence.
Everyone turned.
Zanis stood there, a creepy smile plastered on his face.
"Amazing... such a talented adventurer. To take out all of my men by yourself. I can see you're a rookie with great prospects."
His smile vanished into a cold glare, his eyes boring into Belle.
He turned and seized Lili by the head, lifting her effortlessly.
"M-Mister Zanis, what are you doing? Please, let me go!"
Lili's voice shook with panic as she struggled.
Zanis sneered and slammed her face into the wall, spiderweb cracks spreading across it.
"Captain!?"
Even the two attackers were surprised.
Although Lili was the punching bag of the Soma Familia, they couldn't understand what their captain was thinking.
Zanis didn't respond and instead stared at Lili, whose mouth hung open as she bled profusely.
"T-that... hurts... Mister Zanis... why?"
"Be quiet!"
He slammed her head into the wall again, creating bigger cracks across its surface.
When Zanis pulled her back, her nose was already broken and her face was completely covered in blood.
"Hey! Stop that! Isn't she one of yours?"
Belle could no longer bear it and yelled in anger.
"This useless pallum? Nah... trash like her can be discarded anytime."
He reached for his waist and pulled out a knife.
"I realized this earlier, when you knocked out my men instead of killing them."
His grin twisted as he pointed the knife toward Lili's throat.
"Let's just say I'm really good at seeing through someone's personality."
He stared into Belle's red eyes as if he could see right through her.
'Another hero wannabe... the type to be a pushover.'
He felt a sense of elation, as though he had already won.
"If you drop your weapon... I will spare this little girl's life."
"But if you don't... well..."
Zanis made a neck-slitting gesture with his thumb.
"You sick bastard! Why do that to your own people? And do you really think that bluff will work on me?"
Belle shouted in indignation.
"Hehe... bluff? You think I'm bluffing? You really think I care about the life of this useless trash?"
Zanis grinned and pressed the knife closer to Lili's neck.
A thin line of blood appeared, droplets spilling down.
Belle's eyes shrank when she saw this.
If anyone else were in this situation, they would most likely ignore Zanis' threat and wouldn't care about the life of a stranger.
But Belle Cranel wasn't like that.
From childhood until now, she had aspired to become a hero.
Her mind raced as she thought of the heroes she had read about in those old stories.
Their bravery. Their selflessness. Their presence that brought hope and peace.
She had admired such tales and strived to become just like them.
At this moment, Belle had only one thought.
'What would those heroes do?'
She bit her lip and made her decision.
Her hands loosened, and the dagger slipped from her grip, hitting the ground with a metallic clank.
"Hahahaha... it was a gamble, but I didn't think you were actually that naive."
Zanis touched his forehead, threw his head back, and started laughing.
He walked forward, each step slow and steady, until he stopped right in front of Belle.
"By the way... I lied."
He raised the knife in his hand and stabbed Lili in the chest.
"Ahhh!"
Lili let out a bloodcurdling scream.
Her blood splattered across Belle's face, who stood frozen in shock.
"Wha—"
Belle was left speechless, until a fist smashed into her face, dazing her.
"What a fool."
Zanis mocked, his figure flashing as he landed a punch to Belle's stomach.
"Urgh!"
Belle fell to her knees, clutching her stomach, staring up at Zanis through the pain.
His mocking smile only deepened.
"Did you really think I was going to let you live?"
He raised his leg.
"Unfortunately, you will have to die here."
A brutal kick to the face sent her skidding across the ground.
"I know for a fact you will become a high-level adventurer in the future... and since I've already made an enemy out of you..."
He stomped down on her chest.
Several bones cracked beneath his heel, and Belle screamed in agony.
"It's best to pull out the weeds before they grow."
He crouched down and aimed his knife toward her heart.
"What a mess."
An unknown voice.
Then a loud crash.
"Aghh!"
"Augh!"
Dust scattered from the impact.
Zanis froze, the knife mere millimeters from Belle's chest.
He turned and saw the last two standing members of the Soma Familia collapsed unconscious on the ground.
Zanis shifted his gaze.
A figure stood shrouded in the dust.
'Purple?'
Two cold, unfeeling purple eyes stared at him... eyes that made him shiver.
--------------
+15 chapters on patreon.com/drdedot